An aerial view of the California state Capitol on August 19, 2025 in Sacramento. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Justin Sullivan
Getty Images
Some California counties, including Sacramento, saw small gains in residents in 2025 while the state’s population dropped and population growth slowed nationwide.
The slower growth nationwide is likely due to lower levels of net international migration, according to the Vintage 2025 population estimates released Wednesday night by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025, the state’s population fell from 39,364,774 to 39,355,309 — a decrease of 9,465 residents, or 0.02%.
An estimated 229,077 people moved out of California to other states, while 109,278 people moved to California from other countries, including U.S.-born residents returning and new immigrants.
The state saw approximately 398,632 births and 288,917 deaths during that period.
In 2020, California’s population dropped for the first time in the state’s history, contributing to the loss of a seat in the House of Representatives. Declines were steepest between 2020 and 2021 and continued into 2022.
George M. Hayward, a Census Bureau demographer, said in the release that the nation’s largest counties often are “international migration hubs,” where large numbers of international migrants initially move to before migrating domestically.
“With fewer gains from international migration, these types of counties saw their population growth diminish or even turn into loss,” Hayward said in the release.
How has the Sacramento region changed since 2024?
Sacramento County, the eighth largest in the state, reached an estimated population of 1,618,460 — a 0.53% increase from 2024 and a 1.99% increase since 2020.
The county’s population briefly declined between 2021 and 2022, falling by 235 residents, or 0.01%.
An estimated 3,497 Sacramento County residents moved out of state between 2024 and 2025, while 7,583 people moved to the county from other countries. The county recorded 17,345 births and 12,964 deaths during that period.
Yolo County grew from 223,260 residents in 2024 to 224,410 residents in 2025, an increase of 1,150 residents or 0.51%.
Placer County also grew from 434,279 residents in 2024 to 442,081 residents in 2025, a 1.76% increase.
El Dorado County lost 48 residents between 2024 and 2025, going from a population of 192,371 to 192,323 with a decrease of 0.02%. There were 356 more deaths than births in the county.
Sutter County also lost 146 residents, with a population of 98,933 in 2024 and a population of 98,787 in 2025 — a 0.14% decrease.
Yuba County grew from 87,441 residents in 2024 to 88,691 residents in 2025, increasing by 1,250 residents or 1.42%.
What other counties grew since 2024?
Fresno County saw a 0.17% population increase between 2024 and 2025, gaining an estimated 1,758 residents for a total population of 1,035,456.
Merced County’s population increased by an estimated 453 residents to 297,260, a 0.15% increase.
Stanislaus County’s population inched up to 557,719, a 0.06% increase.
San Luis Obispo County’s population has remained relatively stagnant since 2020. The county had an estimated 282,367 residents in 2025, compared with 282,257 in 2020 — an increase of 110 people, or 0.03%. There were 164 more deaths than births between 2024 and 2025.
California had four of the 10 most populous counties in the nation as of July 1, 2025: Los Angeles, the nation’s largest county; San Diego; Orange; and Riverside. None ranked among the fastest-growing counties during the period.
The state did have four of the 10 counties with the largest population declines — Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Ventura — and three among the top 10 by percentage decline: Del Norte, Tuolumne and Lassen counties.
H.D. Palmer, a spokesperson for the California Department of Finance, noted that Los Angeles County’s population loss was partly driven by the historic wildfires that hit the region in January 2025.
“California counties’ population change, like almost all counties in the nation, is affected principally by lower net legal immigration – a reflection of the return of more restrictive legal immigration policies by the Trump Administration,” said Palmer. “Overall, population change for even the top 10 growing counties in the nation is much smaller than in earlier periods, reflecting lower birthrates, reduced legal immigration and rising unaffordability nationwide.”
Nationally, the U.S. population reached an estimated 341,784,857, a 0.5% increase from 2024. Many of the fastest-growing counties were in Southern states, including Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.
In metropolitan areas, growth declined “dramatically,” according to the Census release, falling from 1.1% between 2023 and 2024 to 0.6% between 2024 and 2025.
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Camryn Dadey is The Sacramento Bee’s Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova watchdog reporter. She is a 2022 graduate of Sacramento State.